The big news today out of BlizzCon is that StarCraft II is being divided into
Terrans: Wings of Liberty, Zerg: Heart of the Swarm, and Protoss:
Legacy of the Void, three separate standalone campaigns that will be sold
separately, each highlighting one of the game's races, with the decision to
subdivide the real-time strategy sequel said to be the alternative to either
delaying or scaling back the release.
Shacknews quotes
Blizzard's Rob Pardo saying the second and third games "will be like expansion
packs, but we really want them to feel like standalone products." Word is the
Zerg campaign will emphasize RPG elements, the Protoss campaign will focus on
diplomacy, and the Terran campaign will also feature a Protoss mini-campaign.
Shacknews also offers
a couple of cut-scenes, one fully rendered, and the other using the game engine.

So now, taking all that into consideration - skyrocketing budgets and all - these so-called "fans" expect Starcraft II's campaign to not only be ridiculously ambitious and completely overhauled, but three times as long as well?

And the second they announce this decision, these so-called "fans" immediately shun Blizzard as "changing"? That they're suddenly influenced by Activision even though it was a MERGER, not an ACQUISITION?

These so-called "fans" want an incredibly promising game from a developer that has never disappointed in a decade, but refuse to spend even 20 seconds understanding how this decision was even reached?

Until we know what the release schedule looks like, as well as the pricing for each installation, I expect that people will remain suspicious. While Blizzard has a good rep, that was before they were bought by a company with a bad rep. A company that simply wants to exploit its properties on an annual basis.

I think it's Activision and Blizzard's responsibility to explain themselves fully on this one if they hope to assuage those fans that fear that, once again, a big publisher will purchase and destroy a good developer. It's happened too many times in the past for it to be overlooked.

Taking the words of publishers or developers at face value is stupid, as we've been lied to more times than we can count. Of course they're going to spin it as a good thing. But we don't know enough yet to believe that it is. If they explain it all and justify the price, then they'll probably get the benefit of the doubt that they'll deliver on it.

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." -- Bertrand Russell (I think...)